The field of art to which the claimed invention pertains is adsorptive separation. More specifically, the invention relates to a process for the purification of a feed mixture comprising alpha naphthol and other compounds. In one embodiment, the present invention is a process for obtaining purified alpha naphthol, from its synthesis products, by selectively adsorbing tetralone from a feed mixture comprising alpha naphthol, tetralone and/or tetralin and/or naphthalene. In other embodiments, the alpha naphthol may be selectively adsorbed with the remaining feed components being relatively unadsorbed. In a further embodiment, three or more product streams may be evolved from the process, each containing a distinct relative composition of the feed components. The process employs a particular adsorbent and a particular flow scheme to recover a purified quantity of the alpha naphthol from the feed mixture.